Rubbish ROKR, Nifty nano?

The ROKR E1 iTunes phone seems, well, as crap as I expected. Taking something with mediocre hardware and Motorola’s horrendous software and bolting on iTunes just isn’t going to produce an impressive product. I suppose in some ways it highlights how Apple needs complete control over every aspect, but I reckon the results would’ve been OK if they’d partnered with Nokia or Sony/Ericsson.

On the other hand, the iPod nano looks like a winner, combining features from the shuffle, mini and ‘macro’. Many will miss the mini’s scratch-resistant brushed aluminium and colour options, but the black nano should sell OK (what colour headphones are included though?) and the pricing is competitive. It’s also perfectly positioned in the range, allowing the shuffle to drop in price while the top-of-the-range iPods get upgraded (surely with video sometime soon?). If you listen carefully tonight you might hear the distant sound of rival firms’ executives headbutting their desks and sobbing softly…